If you’re in a party that primarily focuses on utilizing spells, features, and effects that regularly force adversaries to make saving throws, it’s beneficial to pack an extra trick up your sleeves.
Something like Mind Sliver may only reduce an oppositional saving throw by 1 point, but sometimes that point is enough to make the difference between winning and losing.
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What is Mind Sliver Spell?
The spell’s text from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything reads: “You drive a disorienting spike of psychic energy into the mind of one creature you can see within range. The target must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw or take 1d6 psychic damage and subtract 1d4 from the next saving throw it makes before the end of your next turn.
The spell’s damage increases by 1d6 when you reach certain levels: 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).”
Mind Sliver 5e Stats
| Level | Cantrip |
| Casting Time | 1 Action |
| Range/Area | 60 feet |
| Classes | Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard |
| Components | Verbal |
| Duration | 1 round |
| School | Enchantment |
| Attack/Save | None |
| Damage/Effect | Psychic |
How Does Mind Sliver Work?
Mind Sliver, like other cantrips, is more about the secondary effect than the damage. Even at 17th level, 4d6 damage comes to about 12 on average. You’re using the spell to force your foe to subtract 1d4 from their next saving throw.
If you’re a Sorcerer and have the Quickened Spell Metamagic option, you can cast Mind Sliver as a bonus action and a leveled spell that forces your opponent to make a saving throw as your action knowing they’ll need to subtract between 1-4 on it.
If you want to sweeten the pot even more, you can tack on Heightened Spell to your leveled spell to give the enemy disadvantage on the saving throw on top of their subtraction.
Is Mind Sliver a Good Spell?
Mind Sliver is a good spell for Wizards and Sorcerers. Warlocks often appreciate Mind Sliver at higher levels, although they can’t take as many cantrips as other classes, so they have to be pickier with their spells, and Eldritch Blast is nearly a prerequisite.
Sorcerers make the most use of Mind Sliver because they learn more cantrips at level 1 than any other class.
Which Classes Can Use Mind Sliver?
Mind Sliver is available to Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards. Aberrant Mind Sorcerers automatically learn Mind Sliver at level 1, which doesn’t count against their number of known cantrips.
Mind Sliver is available to Bards through the feature Magical Secrets and other classes can access Mind Sliver through the feat Magic Initiate.
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